The Neem Blob

So my best friend at the clinic whom I fondly call Semde "the terrible," because of his naturally choleric disposition asked me to teach him how to make neem cream.

It is really quite easy. All you have to do is mix crushed or chopped soap, boiled neem leaf water and shea butter. That is how I found myself showing a group of macho Burkinabe men how to make neem cream to repel mosquitos (therefore decreasing chances of getting malaria).

It sounds easy right? I mean, it is easy. But, the next day when Semde was insisting that I stop by I didn't get it. He kept saying "I really thought you'd stop by and see how it went."

So, finally I followed him to his house. He went in and carried out the bowl. He sat it on the ground, uncovering it with a flourish.

It looked normal: creamy, white, lotion-like. It looked normal until I dug a spoon into it and. a green blob monster emerged from below the surface to devour its maker.

In true Casey fashion I laughed uncontrollably after the shock had subsided. Apparently the soap/neem water mixture and the shea butter had separated due to lack of stirring. Semde hadn't tried to mix the two substances together (one being angelic and the other being nothing short of satanic). I didn't blame him.

With Semde and his two daughters watching, I stirred out of desperation. I know that Peace Corps teaches you how to fail gracefully, but I wasn't about to fail at one of the most basic projects. Luckily, the solution was as simple as the mistake. It blended together and produced a slightly less viscous neem cream than normal. It was a Christmas miracle considering it's previous condition as the special effects for that blob movie.

Luckily before I came to Peace Corps I had already learned how to succeed awkwardly. With my powers combined I have managed to survive village ...even when blobs attack.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Airtel Burkina Faso.